Whether Sochi or Skate America, Gold chases the Russians

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — The names are different and so, too, the stakes.

Once again, though, Gracie Gold finds herself chasing the Russians.

In her first major international competition since finishing fourth at the Sochi Olympics, the U.S. champion was third in the short program at Skate America after two-footing the second jump in her combination and falling out of her final spin.

Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, who has rebounded after a dismal 18 months kept her home from Sochi, leads while Elena Radionova, who was too young for the Olympics, was second.

"It's tough to skate last after two wonderful competitors," Gold said. "In a competition like this, I can't give points away and make mistakes like I did. I'm really going to have to fight in the long program to move up."

Japan's Tatsuki Machida won the men's title for a second year in a row with a program so exquisite and polished it was more like something you'd see at the end of the season rather than the very start. He did two quadruple jumps -- one in combination -- and both were done with less effort than a bunny hop.

It was his footwork that made his program truly spectacular, however. While most skaters may as well be using elevator music, Machida acknowledged every note of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, landing one of his jumps right on the beat.

His score of 269.09 was almost 35 points ahead of American Jason Brown, who fell on a triple axel and put a hand down on a triple lutz. That hardly mattered to the crowd, which showered the suburban Chicago native with so many stuffed animals he could stock a Toys "R" Us.

Reigning junior world champion Nam Nguyen was third.

The Russian women endured a long drought after two-time Olympic medalist Irina Slutskaya retired following the Torino Games. After winning 13 world and Olympic medals between the 1996 worlds and Torino, a Russian woman made the podium just once in the next eight years.

With the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, however, Russia spared no expense to revive its faded dynasty. Tuktamysheva gave the first sign of what was to come, winning two Grand Prix events in 2011 when she was just 14. But she struggled as she grew, and wasn't even in the mix for the Sochi team.

Radionova would have been, having medaled at two Grand Prix events last year. But she didn't turn 15 until Jan. 6, missing the cutoff by six months.

Russia had such depth, however, the two weren't missed. Adelina Sotnikova became the first Russian woman to win Olympic gold, while Yulia Lipnitskaya helped carry the hosts to the team title.

"I never even thought about quitting figure skating because I always felt I wanted to finish what I've been doing on a high note, to justify all the years and hard work that I've been doing," Tuktamysheva said.

So while Sotnikova and Lipnitskaya have been in Russia preparing for their Grand Prix debuts, Tuktamysheva has been traversing Europe on the warm-up circuit. Skate America is her third competition in three weeks, and fourth in five weeks.

No one has beaten her yet.

"It's important to work out all the technique and get back the competition feeling so that I would be prepared for the Grand Prixs," Tuktamysheva said. "I think it was the right decision. I'm feeling a little tired, but it's a nice tiredness."

Tuktamysheva's jumps were flawless, coming out of them with the smoothness of a ribbon being unspooled. She added a nice touch to her double axel, raising one arm above her head as she rotated.

Yet for all of Tuktamysheva's polish and flair, Gold could have been right there with her if not for her two mistakes. She lost about five points by botching the required jump combination and falling out of her spin; with a score of 60.81 points, she's 6.6 points behind Tuktamysheva.

"Missing a combination spin in a short program, points-wise, is very unfortunate. It's kind of funny embarrassing and a little bit embarrassing to do such a good program and to miss on such a little thing," Gold said.

Coach Frank Carroll grimaced and choreographer Lori Nichol buried her head in her coat at the sight of Gold's stumble. When the reaction was replayed on the Jumbotron, Carroll got beet red.

"Frank and Lori's reaction, they perhaps overreacted slightly," Gold said. "They are still really supportive, and I will be doing fabulous spins tomorrow."